Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Martinez had arranged through a third party to have his daughter marry the older teenager, identified by authorities as Margarito de Jesus Galindo, of Gonzales, California. In exchange, Galindo was to pay Martinez $16,000 and provide him with 160 cases of beer, 100 cases of soda, 50 cases of Gatorade, two cases of wine, and six cases of meat, Greenfield Police Chief Joe Grebmeier told CNN.

All those involved in the case are from the western Mexican state of Oaxaca, the police chief said. In the Oaxacan community, such an agreement is "normal and honorable," he said. "In California, it's against the law." Video Watch for a list of the groceries dad reportedly wanted »

In Oaxacan culture, the food and beverages are provided by a prospective bridegroom for the wedding, Grebmeier said.

Authorities believe the young girl went with Galindo willingly, and no coercion was involved, he said. However, the girl is four years younger than California's age of consent, although the law does allow 16-year-olds to marry with parental consent.

"The 14-year-old juvenile moved in with Galindo and when payments were not received, the father, Martinez, called Greenfield PD to bring back the daughter," according to a written police statement.

The girl was reported as a runaway juvenile on December 18, Grebmeier said, and police took a missing-persons report and put out a flier.

But "as we investigated, it started to develop into something that may not have been a runaway," he said, and police began to believe Martinez wanted them to bring back his daughter, since he had received no payment.

On January 2, Galindo and the girl returned from a trip to Soledad, a town a few miles north of Greenfield, and were interviewed. Police learned the couple had never married, but had engaged in sexual relations, Grebmeier said.

Galindo and Martinez were neighbors at an apartment complex and were apparently from the same area in Mexico, the police chief said. A third party was brokering the marriage deal, he said, and is cooperating with authorities. But the young couple apparently left for Soledad before the negotiations were complete.

Martinez was arrested Sunday after undergoing additional questioning by police, Grebmeier said. He remained jailed Tuesday.

Galindo was cited for statutory rape and released, Grebmeier said. The girl was returned to her family, he said, as authorities believe she is in no danger. However, police reported the case to child protection officials.

The Greenfield area has had a large influx of Oaxacans. A presentation on understanding Oaxacan culture is posted on the Greenfield police Web site.

"Arranged marriages are common in several cultures, and this is not an issue among consenting adults over the age of 18," police said in the statement. "But California has several laws regarding minors, the age of consent and human trafficking."

Monday, January 12, 2009

How many Black men say they’ve never cheated on a partner? Does he use a condom when he steps out on you? Where did he meet the other woman? In an unprecedented exploration of male infidelity, ESSENCE polled almost 25,000 Black men and women to get the answers to these questions and more. Here, the top ten most shocking stats our survey revealed:

WILL HE CHEAT?Almost 70% of brothers think it’s possible for Black men to be monogamous. But only 35% of them say they’ve never cheated on a partner.

SAFE SEX ALERT!53% of men and 41% of women say they “only sometimes” or “never” use protection when they cheat on their partner.

THE OTHER WOMENIf your partner is cheating on you, chances are he’s juggling more than one woman! We asked unfaithful men how many women they’re currently involved with outside of their primary relationship. Here’s what they told us:ONE WOMAN 47%TWO TO FIVE 46%MORE THAN FIVE 7%

TROUBLING FATHER FIGURESMore than 50% of men and women who responded to our survey say their fathers cheated.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER CHEATING?One in four men thinks having an intimate phone call with someone outside the relationship is okay. Only one in six women agrees.

WHERE DO MEN MEET THE OTHER WOMAN? Respondents listed every location you could think of—including places that he goes with you:online. . .at the club. . .at church. . .on vacation . . . at a party with my wife. . .at the grocery store. . .at a ball game. . . on the train. . .at my child’s football practice . . .while sitting in traffic. . .at my job. . .while we were both patients in the hospital.

NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYEWomen are almost twice as likely as men to stay with their partner for more than a year after finding out he’s cheated.

WAS IT JUST SEX?Coupled men and women admitted to being unfaithful in other ways than having intercourse with someone. 31% of men and 21% of women kissed someone other than their partner.28% of men and 16% of women fondled someone else.And 40% of men along with 30% of women had an intimate phone call or conversation with another person.

WHY HE CHEATSMen were more than twice as likely as women to cite physical attraction as the number one reason for being unfaithful.Women, on the other hand, are nearly three times as likely as men to step out on their partners as revenge for being cheated on.

HOW DID CHEATERS GET CAUGHT?27% of men who’ve stepped out said they were busted by their partner’s snooping.17% said they confessed. Some men said they were just plain sloppy:“I gave her an STD.”“She found a hickey on my neck.”“I left the condom wrapper in my pocket and it came out in the wash.”“I got a text message from the other woman while my girl was using my phone.”

Did He Step Out On You? Tell Us What Happened.Only 13% of women ESSENCE surveyed had never had a partner cheat on them. Are you part of the 87% who have? Share your story of infidelity below.

For more of our exclusive study and interviews on why men cheat, pick up the October 2008 issue of ESSENCE.

It looks like the recession is hitting the adult entertainment sector pretty hard. A Detroit strip club lowered its table dance prices:

The topless club in the suburb of Warren -- where General Motors and Chrysler employ upwards of 20,000 people -- cut the cost of a table dance in half, from $20 to $10, in mid-November. The dancer gets all the money plus any tips, while food and drinks generate the club's income, general manager Kelly Sander said Tuesday.

Jon Jon's has lowered prices on drinks, but business is still down 50 percent from a year ago, Sander said. She now opens the club at 6 p.m. instead of 11 a.m.

"People can't afford to go out and have fun the way they used to," said Sander, whose club on Mound Road is located roughly halfway between GM's Technical Center and the GM Powertrain and Chrysler pickup truck assembly plants. "Of course it has to do with the economy."

The price cut in table dances, in which dancers perform at or on the patron's table, gave business a bit of a boost, Sander said, but added: "The regulars still come in but they don't stay as long. We do what we have to do keep going."

For Sander, that included pink-slipping one of her managers, who had worked 24 years for the club. "Everybody's in a pinch," she said. "I've got to make some cuts. It doesn't matter what kind of business it is."

Others adult-oriented businesses haven't been immune from the region's economic sickness, either. The Greektown Casino in downtown Detroit is in Chapter 11 bankruptcy, and the MGM Grand Detroit hotel and casino laid off several dozen employees in October.

Unemployment in Detroit and its closest suburbs, including Warren, was 8.8 percent in October, up from 8.3 percent in September.

Business has been unpredictable at the Booby Trap, a strip club on 8 Mile in Detroit, said general manager Brian Klinec.

"We're holding our own, let's put it that way," he said. "You've got your good nights and your bad nights. There are more bad nights. It's tough. People don't have disposable income right now."

Cheap drinks and football on TV remain big draws, Klinec said, but he expected more uncertainty in the near future: "After Jan. 1, everybody's got their bills to pay from the holidays."